Soul Jump
by Cayti Leigh
Summary: Ginny and Harry had been fighting dark forces for years. There were few left living on the light side, so with the help of Albus Dumbledore's painting, they devised a plan to go back and fix everything. Time Travel, Soul Bond.
1. Bonded

-Annoying Note-

This chapter is simply backround on the how/why. It isn't written in great story format, as it is short and sweet. Next chapter is WAY better... so bear with it :)

Harry and Ginny were married mere months after the final battle. With their wedding kiss, a soul bond was sealed. Soul bonds were rare, but not unheard of. They can only form when a couple is completely, unconditionally, and deeply in love.

In the year that followed, Voldemort's Death Eaters had come together determined that their Lord would come back. In the attacks, so many were lost, and the killing didn't stop.

Harry knew they'd lost too many when the Weasley family was slaughtered, save for Ginny who'd been with Harry at the time. They, with the help of Albus Dumbledore's painting, created a complicated spell involving a time turner and their Soul Bond.

Through their Soul Bond, Harry and Ginny were able to hear each other's thoughts and see each other's memories. Through meditating, they were able to search both their memories at once to find any time they crossed paths.

Going backwards, they found it happened rather often, as with soul mates it often does, because of Mr. Weasley's fascination with muggles. Ginny's family had been visiting the zoo when Harry had set loose the snake. When Harry was eight, Harry had been carrying his aunt's shopping bags in London while Ginny was walking towards the Leaky Cauldron with her family. At age six, they'd bumped into each other at a museum where Harry had taken a school sponsored class trip. The very earliest was when Harry was four and Ginny was three.

Ginny's dad had taken them to a large carnival on a 'How-Fascinating-These-Muggles-Are' trip, and Harry had gone along with the Dursley's for Dudley's birthday (they hadn't been able to get a sitter). Harry had been told to wait in a small space between two tents until the Dursleys came to get him. He'd been curled up crying silently, scared out of his mind, when Ginny had seen him. She went up and tapped him on the shoulder. 'Why are you crying' she'd asked. He'd looked up at her with a tear stained face that couldn't be seen for the shadows of the tent. Just then, Mr. Weasley began calling for Ginny that he had cotton candy for her to try and she'd run back to her father, her small three-year-old attention span diverted from Harry.

They chose this meeting for the Soul Jump, as it would give them the most time to prepare. The Soul Jump would bring them into awareness the day of the meeting, but they could not change events. As soon as they touched, their Soul Bond would reconnect in that time and they would be able to do whatever they please to fix the future.

They made a plan and set the spell.


	2. Acting Skills

He awoke to the darkness of his cupboard. It seemed larger to his four year old body.

"GET UP BOY!" shouted Aunt Petunia.

Harry rose obediently, dressing quickly before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast. Today was Dudley birthday, and he'd be going to a large carnival with the Dursley's since no sitter was available.

With breakfast on the table, Dudley came downstairs roughly pushing Harry onto the floor. Harry got up and went to his cupboard.

Some time later, when all the Dursleys were ready to leave, Uncle Vernon came and got him. "Now listen here, boy. You'll behave today, or be beaten when we get home, you understand?" Then, as if to demonstrate, he grabbed Harry by the shirt and threw him towards the door. Harry's head hit against the door and he was dazed a bit from the impact. When Vernon saw he hadn't gotten up yet, he raised a large fist in the air threateningly.

Not wanting to add to his collection of bruises from the past month that hadn't healed yet, Harry quickly rose from the ground, ignoring the throbbing in his head, and headed to the car with the rest of the Dursleys.

The ride to the carnival passed without much fuss, and Harry was left between two tents to wait until the Dursleys returned for him to go home.

Harry was scared. He'd been sitting in the same place for hours now. He pulled his knees up to his chest and cried, silent sobs raked through his body. He'd learned to cry quietly after Uncle Vernon had beaten him for his 'disruptive noise'.

Ginny Weasley and her family were buying cotton candy at a vendor, ("Oh! Look dear!" her father had shouted. "They use ekeltrisity and everything!") when Ginny had seen the young boy crying.

She walked closer to him. He had dark hair and bruises on his arms. He was wearing clothes that were several sizes too large.

She reached up to tap his shoulder as she asked, "Why are you crying?"

As soon as her hand made contact, there was a subtle magical surge. Both Ginny and Harry's memories of the future came back to them as they felt their souls bond once again.

Harry looked up, his tear streaked face smiling slightly. Ginny smiled back.

_Hello, Mrs. Potter_ Harry said through their bond.

_Time to put our acting skills to the test._ Ginny said smirking.

"Ginny, come try this cotton candy!" shouted her father. "Ginny?"

Ginny gave Harry one more smile before running back to her father. "Daddy, daddy!" she said, tugging on his pant leg.

"What is it princess?"

"Come here!" she said, determinedly pulling the adult by his trousers.

"What is it, sweetie?" He asked.

"Look." She said, pointing to Harry.

Harry, who had put his head back down on his knees, was continuing to cry to help his show. The sight alarmed Mr. Weasley, and he bent down and asked in a calm, comforting tone "Is everything ok?" Harry looked up, fear written on his face. "What's your name?"

"I-I-I don't know." Harry stammered out. "I'm usually called 'boy'." Harry paused, a thinking look on his teary face. "It m-might be… I-I-I j-just don't k-know." Harry shrunk back into himself, as if expecting to be hit.

The shock on the elder Weasley's face was obvious. "Ginny, dear, go get your mother."

Ginny hurried off toward a group of red heads to find her mum.

Mr. Weasley turned back to Harry. "Where are your parents?" Harry didn't answer, but instead found Ginny through their bond.

_Are you in hearing distance yet? _He asked.

_Hang on… ok, they should be able to hear now._

Harry lifted his tear-streaked face and looked Mr. Weasley in the eye. "What's a 'whore'?" He asked.

To say Mr. Weasley was shocked would be an understatement. "Wherever did you hear that?" he asked once he'd recovered.

"Well," said Harry, "Y-You'd just asked about my p-parents, and my u-uncle says that my dad was a d-drunk, and my m-m-mum was a w-whore." Harry took a shaky breath. "Only I d-don't know w-what a whore is, and I'm not a-allowed to ask questions."

Mrs. Weasley, who had heard all this, was turning a brilliant shade of red. _What had this poor boy's family done to him? _She thought angrily. _He looks like he hasn't eaten a proper meal who knows how long!_

"Mum," Ginny said as she pulled at her mother's sleeve looking up with wide innocent eyes. "Mum, can we keep him?"

Mrs. Weasley looked down at her small daughter, smiling at her innocent question, while her mind was calculating the possibilities. _Could they? Could they simply take off with this child, who'd obviously suffered from years of abuse?_ She shared a look with her husband. _Of course they could_.

Mrs. Weasley squatted down next to her husband and held out a hand to the small child. "Would you like to come home with us?" she asked.

The boys eyes lit up at this. "I wouldn't have to go back?"

Mrs. Weasley heart melted at the sight of the happy child. "Never." She said with determination.

Ginny smiled at him. _I guess you're a better actor than I thought._

_You didn't do half bad yourself, Firefly._


	3. You'll Grow Out of It

Just as Harry was reaching out his hand to Mrs. Weasley, The Dursleys rounded the corner on their way to retrieve Harry. When they saw a family surrounding him, Petunia became worried, Vernon became red-faced with anger, and Dudley slurped an ice cream cone, oblivious to the world.

"What do you think you're doing, boy?" shouted Uncle Vernon.

Harry pulled back his hand and curled further up making himself as small as possible.

"Vernon," Petunia warned with a nervous glance at the Weasleys, who were watching the interaction with calculating looks. She plastered a fake smile onto her face and said to Harry in a sickly sweet voice, "Dear, where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you."

"S-s-sorry, Aunt Petunia." Harry said, fidgeting with his hands.

"Get up, boy," said Uncle Vernon, reaching down and grabbing Harry by the arm.

_Your up, Gin._ Harry thought to her.

Ginny stepped forward. "Stop it!" she yelled putting her hands on her hips in a freighting imitation of her mother.

"And just what do you plan to do if I don't?" Uncle Vernon taunted, tightening his hold on Harry's arm.

_Taunting a three-year-old? He really is just a big coward. _Ginny said to Harry.

"You're hurting him!" Ginny said with a screech. "Let him go," she stomped her foot, "now!"

When her foot made contact with the ground, Uncle Vernon was thrown backwards a good ten feet. The Weasleys all looked at Ginny with shock; she'd just preformed her first bit of magic.

Harry scrambled over to Ginny as soon as he was released. Uncle Vernon had gotten up and was charging toward Ginny, his round face now purple in color. "You're a freak, just like him!"

Before either of the elder Weasleys had time to draw their wands to protect the children, Harry pulled Ginny behind him and said, "Don't you hurt her!"

Vernon stopped short, and began to swell. He grew rounder until he began to lift off the ground.

Just as Harry had done with his Aunt Marge, he'd blown up his relative.

Ginny kept her face unchanged, but inside she was laughing. _Not very creative, are you Harry?_

_Well, there were so many endless possibilities, but this just suited him so well._

_I think we're letting him off to easy. _Ginny said with an internal pout.

_I couldn't agree more! Would you like to do the honors, Gin?_

_I'd love to. _She said with an evil gleam in her eye.

Harry manipulated his 'accidental' magic causing Uncle Vernon to deflate like a flying balloon; that is, if said balloon was heading directly towards the ground with no change in direction.

Vernon fell with a ground shaking thump causing Dudley's ice cream to fall. He began wailing in the background. Petunia tried in vain to pacify her spoiled son with promises of a new, much larger ice cream, but Dudley continued to scream.

Then it was Ginny's turn for some fun. "What kind of people are you?" she yelled, the accusing tone intensified by her child voice. "You spoil your son rotten, but be mean to your nephew?"

Vernon's face had gone purple and the vein in his head was pulsing. "Now you listen here." He said in a dangerously low tone.

"No, you listen!" said Ginny. "Your son is a fat pig!" She pointed at Dudley and his cries turned into pig-like squeals. His body began to morph and where moments ago had been Dudley Dursley now sat a very fat pig.

Aunt Petunia shrieked in fear. By this time, several muggles had gathered around and were watching with wide eyes. This seemed to shake the elder Weasleys out of their shocked state. Arthur sent out a simple memory modifying spell to make the muggles believe they had just seen a very good magic show, and then a muggle repelling circle around them. The surrounding muggles left gossiping about the 'great magician' they'd just seen.

"Arthur," Molly whispered nervously. "How are they doing that? They aren't old enough to be old enough to do such complicated magic, even if it is accidental."

"I'm not sure…" Arthur looked nervous. "But I think it's best if we clean this up without the ministry's help. We don't want Ginny to be studied by Unspeakables."

"I agree, and at least we know the little boy has magic, it would have been much harder to convince the ministry to let us take him in if he'd have been a muggle."

They turned their wands to the Dursleys, intending to change back Dudley, when a highly amusing sight greeted them.

Uncle Vernon was being pelted with food being summoned from the surrounding vendors. He had what appeared to be a pink afro, but at closer inspection was actually cotton candy. Petunia was surrounded by a bush of flowers that were snaking up from the ground. They'd twirled around her feet and up her legs, binding her wrists as well. The flowers were petunias.

Dudley was still a pig. The ice cream cone he'd dropped was levitating above him, causing him to reach for it on his hind legs letting out screeches whenever he lost his balance and tumbled to the ground.

Harry and Ginny were standing a few feet away smirking and silently congratulating each other.

_How long do you think it will last? _Harry asked as Dudley let out a particularly loud squeal after falling on his back.

_As long as it takes mum and dad to get over their shock, I suppose. _Ginny said with a grin.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were staring at the scene; their mouths open wide in shock. "Bloody hell." whispered Arthur. He shook his head to clear it before beginning to mutter counter curses. Molly followed his lead and in no time, they'd returned the Dursleys to a normal, if completely freaked out, state.

"That's it!" said Vernon, his voice shaking slightly. "We're through! He's your problem now!" With that he grabbed his wife and son and hurried away.

"Arthur, shouldn't we go after them?"

"Let's leave them. The child is bound to be on the list for Hogwarts, we can ask Dumbledore about it tomorrow morning."

They turned to Harry and Ginny. Ginny let out a yawn and went to reach up for her dad to hold her.

"Time to go home then, I think." said Mrs. Weasley as she leaned down to kiss her daughter's forehead. She took Harry by the hand as they went over to one of the funhouses where the rest of the Weasley children were playing.

"Come along now! It's getting late, so we're heading home." she said to her six sons. This was immediately met with protests from the younger children. Mrs. Weasley gave her sons a glare and they immediately quieted down.

"Err, mum, who's the kid?" asked Bill. At fourteen years old he already looked pretty cool. He didn't have the fang earring yet, but his signature ponytail was there.

"We'll talk about it when we get home." She said in a quiet voice.

_Ask for the story now. It'll be easier on them if they at least know my name. _Harry said to Ginny.

"Daddy?" Ginny said, snuggling in closer to her father.

"Yeah, princess?"

"Tell me a story?" she asked. They had begun to walk, heading for a wizard's pub about half a mile away from the carnival.

"What story do you want to hear?" he asked her, knowing the answer.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Do you even have to ask her, dad?" Charlie was twelve, and already very protective of his sibling, although he wasn't the oldest, he was the most wary of danger and kept giving suspicious looks towards Harry.

"Alright, the story of Harry Potter it is." said Mr. Weasley with a smile. "Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Harry Potter. He had a mommy and a daddy that loved him very much. But an evil wizard wanted to hurt little Harry, so his parents took him into hiding. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named found the hiding spot and attacked the Potters on Halloween night.

"Harry's daddy tried to stop him, but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed him, before heading upstairs to where Harry and his mother were. You-Know-Who killed Harry's mum as well before turning his wand on Harry. He cast the killing curse, but it didn't work! He couldn't kill little Harry Potter!"

The Weasley children were all smiling slightly. Though they would never admit it, they all loved this story.

"You-Know-Who's curse rebounded back to him, killing himself instead and leaving Harry Potter with a Lightning Bolt shaped scar on his forehead."

Ginny smiled up at her father. She'd missed hearing his stories after she'd grown out of them.

A small voice made all the Weasleys turn to look at Harry. He'd tugged on Mrs. Weasley's shirt and said in a quiet, hesitant voice, "Am I aloud to ask a question?"

Mrs. Weasley's heart nearly broke at the nervous look on the small child's face. "Of course, dear." She said in a soft tone.

"Do a lot of people have scars like that on their forehead?"

Mrs. Weasley was confused by his question. Had he possibly seen Harry Potter before? "Not that I know of dear, have you seen someone with one?"

"Yes." He replied in a hesitant voice. At this point all the Weasley's had stopped walking and were looking at him.

Harry shrank back at the sudden attention. "It's alright, child. You can tell us." Mrs. Weasley said in a gentle voice.

"W-well, I-I umm… I h-have one." He said in a quiet mumble.

Mrs. Weasley didn't think she heard him right. She couldn't have! This little abused boy couldn't be Harry Potter, could he? "What was that, dear?"

"Erm, I have a scar like that." Harry said shuffling his feet nervously. "My Uncle said I got it in the car crash that killed my parents."

Mrs. Weasley was stunned into silence for a moment before finding her voice. "May I see?" She asked, gesturing to his forehead. He nodded silently and lifted away his bangs. Mrs. Weasley gasped and stepped back; as did the rest of her family, save for Ginny. Ginny wriggled out of her father's grasp and walked over to Harry.

She looked at him for a moment before lifting a hand to touch his cheek, as if testing if he were real. Then she lifted her other hand to his other cheek and squished his face about in a very childish manor.

_You're enjoying this, aren't you? _Harry asked, amused.

Ginny just smiled and pulled at his hair, cocking her head to the side before lifting his bangs like her mother had and looking at his scar.

"So your name is Harry, then?" she said, dropping her hand. "Well, my name is Ginny."

"Hi Ginny," Harry said in a small voice.

Ginny stood back and looked at him. "Do you want to be friends?"

Harry smiled; it was the first genuine smile the other Weasleys had seen on him. "Sure! I've never had a friend before."

Ginny smiled and grabbed Harry by the hand as she turned to face her family who were still staring at the two in shock.

"Aren't we going home, daddy?" she asked when no one moved.

The sound of his daughter's voice seemed to jolt Mr. Weasley back into his senses. "Of course." he said. He quickly prodded at his wife to get her out of her shocked state so she could get the rest of the children. "Come on, Ginny… Harry." He said Harry's name with a distant sort of wonder.

Harry smiled.

_Good job, Harry._ Ginny said.

_Thanks Gin, I learned from the best after all. _He wasn't kidding when he said that. Ginny had given Harry hours and hours of "Acting Lessons" to prepare for going back.

Ginny and Harry walked hand in hand back to the pub where they were all going to Floo home.

Ron picked up his pace a bit so that he was walking next to Harry. He looked to his parents before turning to whisper to Harry.

_Here it comes. _Harry said.

_He's going to ask what I think he's going to ask, isn't he? _Ginny said with a mental sigh.

"Do you remember what You-Know-Who looked like?" Ron asked.

His childish fail-at-whispering had reached his parent's ears and his mother immediately went to scold him, but before she got the chance, Harry looked Ron directly in the eyes and replied, "Yes."

None of the Weasleys knew how to respond to that, so they all fell into an awkward silence.

A few minutes later they had reached the wizard pub.

After Mr. Weasley explained to Harry how to use the Floo, they all went home.

Once home, Ginny, Harry, and Ron were told that they had twenty minutes until it was bedtime. Ron immediately asked for a snack.

_I have an idea! _Ginny said to Harry before dragging him upstairs by the hand.

When Mrs. Weasley came in to bring Harry up to Ron's room, she smiled. Ginny's room had been turned into a large tent. The sheets from her bed, as well as those from the linens closet, were hung around the room. All the extra blankets and pillows had been brought inside to make a make-shift bed for the two. Mrs. Weasley decided to let them have their little sleepover, seeing how they were already asleep.

Little did she know that they were actually awake, waiting for her to leave.

Harry sat up once the door had been shut. _Everything's going according to plan._

_Yeah. It's sort of refreshing, not having everything go wrong._

_It's nice being back at the Burrow. _Harry said smiling as he looked around the room. The Burrow had been burned down when the Weasleys had been killed.

_I know what you mean. _Ginny sighed.

_I feel so tired… _Harry said with a yawn.

Ginny giggled. _That's because you're four. You can exactly stay up for three days straight anymore. Now it's gonna be early bedtimes and midday naps!_

_I can't wait. _Harry said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

_Oh, you'll grow out of it._

_I know, but for now, goodnight my Firefly. _Harry leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Ginny blushed like the little girl she was.

_Hmm, it's much easier to make you blush. _Harry smirked.

_Stupid three year old body…_ Ginny muttered.

_You'll grow out of it. _Harry said, playfully mocking her previous words.

_I know, love. Now goodnight, everyone else might not know it, but tomorrow will be a busy day._


	4. Of Rats and Men

Harry had woken up hungry. He wondered when the last time his body had eaten a full meal was. _Probably never._ He thought to himself.

He kissed the top of Ginny's head before crawling out of their fort to head downstairs to make breakfast.

Ginny began to stir as he got up. _Mum won't like that you're doing that._ She said, still only half awake.

Harry smiled. He knew this of course, and he planned to use it to his advantage.

_Come downstairs with me, Sleeping Beauty. I'll make pancakes!_

_Five more minutes._ Ginny mumbled, rolling over and falling back asleep.

One hour later, Harry had made a very large breakfast as well as cleaned every surface in the kitchen.

Bill Weasley woke to the smell of his favorite breakfast, pancakes. He stumbled downstairs and was halfway through both yawning and wishing his mum good morning when he saw who was setting the table.

"H-harry?" he asked, not quite ready to believe what he was seeing.

Harry turned around; dropping the plate he was holding. He looked at Bill with wide eyes. It had been while since anyone had been able to startle him like that. Harry supposed his hearing wasn't as good, being that he was now four. He saw the mess of broken plate on the floor and panicked. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he said, shrinking into himself. Although he consciously knew that Bill would never hurt him, his body reacted out of habit and feared the worst.

Bill just stared for a moment in shock before shaking himself and walking towards Harry. "It's alright; it's easy to clean up." Harry immediately grabbed for the broom and dustpan when Bill reached out to stop him. "Whoa there, I've got it…" He paused; his words about the danger of the now-shattered plate lost to him. Harry had shrunk away from his hand as if waiting to be hit. "Harry, are you…"

Fred and George chose that moment to come chasing one another down the stairs. They stopped short when they saw the piles of pancakes on the table. "Wicked!" They said together.

"But where's…"

"…mum?"

Bill turned to the twin pranksters. "Fred, George, would you mind going and waking her up?"

They looked up at their brother with identical confused faces.

"But then…"

"…who made…"

"…all of this?"

Ron came in just then rubbing at his eyes. He looked up and saw the kitchen. "Why's everything so clean? Did we get a house elf?"

"Just go wake up mum!" Bill yelled at the twins. They ran up the stairs bumping into Percy, who was making his way down.

"Watch where you're going!" Fred and George shouted in unison before continuing up the stairs. Percy scowled at them.

Bill turned his attention back to Harry, who was still cowering in fear. "Don't worry, Harry. I'm not going to hurt you."

Bill however, did not know that Harry was no longer afraid of punishment, but for the fact that he couldn't hear Ginny.

_GINNY!_ He yelled in his mind again.

But he couldn't hear any response from her.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny woke up hearing the twins running up the stairs. She could smell breakfast downstairs and smiled. _Morning, Harry!_ She called out through their link. There was no response. _Harry..._ _HARRY?_

She reached across their bond, but couldn't feel the familiar presence. _What's going on? _She thought desperately, fearing the worst. She ripped the covers off and ran downstairs, pushing past her mother in her haste to find Harry.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry was in a panic. He couldn't find Ginny's mind through the link, and feared the worst.

Just then, Ginny came running noisily down the stairs. As soon as Harry saw her, he felt her of panic, and then relief when she saw him. _Harry!_ She called through their minds before running over and giving him a huge bear hug.

_Ginny! What's going on? It's never had limits before…_

_I know. I couldn't find you until I got into the room… Harry, why's this happening?_

_I don't know, Gin. It probably has to do with the jump. We need to talk to Professor Dumbledore._

Mrs. Weasley, who had been brought down was looking with confusion at the two. She looked at her eldest son, who was just as confused as she was. "What's going on?" She whispered to Bill.

"I don't know…" he whispered back. The magic built up from the bond mates emotions made the air thick.

_But Harry, how will we explain to him? He said not to tell him._

Harry thought back to one of their many talks with Dumbledore. "Now, my boy," Dumbledore had said. "Once you are back, you are not to tell me anything about your Jump until absolutely necessary."

"B-but Sir?" Harry had been confused, how were they to get anything accomplished without him?

"You must understand, Harry. I know myself well enough to realize that I wouldn't take it well. I'd try to take control of the situation far too early. If it is possible, avoid telling me until your Hogwarts letter arrives, later if possible."

"But, Professor, wouldn't you understand? I mean, you understand now. Maybe if we explained it right…"

"Harry, my boy, self awareness is an important thing to posses, and I am aware that my past self would not be comfortable listening to a four year old."

"I guess I understand… when you put it like that…"

"Then it is settled." He'd said, his eyes twinkling. "Now, if the situation ever arises that you must tell me, I have a codeword for a time travelers to use. I created it in my youth, when a good friend of mine played a trick on me, insisting I'd sent him from the future. Let's just say it didn't end well."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, what happened?"

Dumbledore frowned. "I ended up in the Great Hall, wearing an extremely unflattering ballerina costume.

Ginny couldn't help but smile at Harry's thoughts.

_That would have been a sight worth seeing. _Ginny thought. _But how are we to get Dumbledore's help if we can't tell him what's going on?_

_Act like scared little kids? He did say he'd try to take control, so why don't we just… let him?_

_I suppose…_

"Ginny?" They both turned to see a very worried looking Mrs. Weasley. They both stepped away from each other when they realized they'd been hugging the whole time.

Ginny put on a face of wide-eyed innocence. "Morning, mum!"

"Er… Morning dear. What… what's all this about?"

Mrs. Weasley was surprised when Harry answered instead of Ginny. "Oh, she was just scared because she couldn't hear me anymore."

"I thought something bad might have happened to him, and he was worried at the same time because he was calling me and I wasn't answering, even when he called really loud."

Bill looked at Harry. "What do you mean, 'he called you'… Harry didn't say a word."

Ginny just looked at her brother in confusion. "Why would he have to say anything to call me?"

No one spoke as everyone tried to understand what she meant. Mr. Weasley, who'd followed his wife downstairs, finally broke the silence. "Ginny, how did he call you if he didn't say anything?"

"He called…"

"…in my mind." They finished each other's sentence much like the twins did. It was something they'd gotten in the habit of doing after their soul bond until Hermione convinced them to learn to stop to save her from headaches.

The Weasleys just stared at them, unsure how to respond, or whom to respond to for that matter. Charlie choose that moment to come downstairs, yawning widely while rubbing his eyes and muttering, "Morning, everyone."

The roomful of people all turned and looked at him. "Err... did I miss something?" he asked nervously. Ginny couldn't help but giggle, and Harry joined her, before long they were both were holding in fits of laughter.

"You... all… look so… funny!" Ginny said through giggles.

Mrs. Weasley ignored the laughing children and turned her attention to the breakfast on the table. "Who made this?"

"I did." Harry said in a small voice.

"Harry always had to make breakfast where he used to live, and he wasn't even aloud to eat any of it!" Ginny told them.

"Did Harry tell you this in your mind as well?" Mr. Weasley asked, glancing nervously between his daughter and the Boy-Who-Lived.

"No." she stated simply. "I saw it."

"Saw it? What does she mean she saw it? What's going on?" asked Charlie.

"I saw it in his memory." No one spoke so she continued. "Yesterday morning he was making breakfast, but he burnt it. So his Aunt hit him on the arm with the hot frying pan. Then he was sent to his cupboard without food. Actually, his arm still hurts pretty badly."

Harry grabbed his arm and held it. Truthfully, it didn't hurt much, but he supposed to Ginny, whose body wouldn't be used to pain, would feel it as being worse when she assessed it through their minds. _I think you might have over done it Firefly. It looks like your mum is about to cry._

"I'm just telling them the truth." Ginny said aloud to Harry.

_I _"know," _but you know how your mum can get, I'll be fussed over for _"days!" Harry said, reverting back to another one of their old habits where they said random words aloud for emphasis.

"Well," _you _"deserve"_ to be fussed over. When was the last time you ate _"anything?"

"Err…" Harry thought back. He had stolen some bread from the kitchen day before yesterday, and had gotten water from the sink in the bathroom yesterday morning.

"See!" _Now you're going to _"let" _mum fuss over you, and _"not" _wine like a four year old._

_But I _"am" _a four year old._ Harry replied cheekily.

_That's enough of your cheek. _Ginny smiled.

The Weasleys watched the exchange confused. They couldn't make any sense of what Harry and Ginny were saying to each other, and it was only that confusion that kept Mrs. Weasley from jumping across the room and fussing over Harry.

Ginny turned back to her family and asked, "Well, are we going to eat breakfast?"

That comment made them all shake out of their shock. The boys all went to sit at the table, while Mrs. Weasley went to look at Harry's arm. She gasped when she saw the burned and bruised flesh. "You need to see a healer!" she told him.

"Mum, can we do that after breakfast?"

"Ginny!" her mother scolded. "He is hurt and…"

Ginny cut her off, "Harry hasn't eaten since day before yesterday, and that was only a bit of bread that he stole from the kitchen. He doesn't remember the last time before then."

Mrs. Weasley turned to see a red-faced Harry looking at his feet. "Is that true?"

"Err… Yes, but don't worry, I'm used to…" He paused. "Mrs. Weasley?" he asked.

"Yes, dear?"

"Am I aloud to eat with you?"

"Of course!"

"Good, because Ginny just threatened to push me into the mud if I didn't." Harry stated with a serious expression. The entire table burst out laughing at Ginny's threat.

"Come here," Mrs. Weasley said softly, pulling out a chair for Harry and putting more pancakes on his plate than he could ever eat.

They ate breakfast rather quietly. There were a few conversations, but other than Harry and Ginny, no one continuously talked. They were all watching Harry and Ginny, who kept talking to each other in thoughts and random spoken words.

Once they were done with breakfast, Harry had only managed to eat one full pancake, and a few bites of a second before his stomach had begun to hurt from more food than he was used to. He didn't put any syrup on it, knowing he wouldn't be able to stomach the sweetness.

Mrs. Weasley saw how little Harry had eaten, but didn't comment, guessing by his size that he wasn't used to eating much food. Once breakfast was finished, Mrs. Weasley took Harry – and Ginny because she refused to leave Harry's side – to Hogwarts to see Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore.

After an extensive and rather embarrassing medical exam, Harry's arm was healed, along with a few other injuries he didn't even know he had. He was also given a potion to help with the severe malnourishment he was suffering from.

Professor Dumbledore was in a Wizengamot meeting, but Professor McGonagall promised to have him fire-call when he got back. Afterwards, they'd gone home and were told to play in the garden while Mrs. Weasley had made lunch. Harry had attempted to help her, but she'd shooed him out the door.

Fred and George, being their mischievous selves, suggested that they all play a game.

"What kind…"

"…of game?" Asked Harry and Ginny. Both were nervous, knowing anything the twins planned wouldn't be good.

The twins grinned and glanced at each other before staring straight back at Harry and Ginny. "Wedding," they replied. The evil grins not leaving their faces.

Half an hour later, Harry found himself in Bill's dress robes, standing in front of an amused looking Charlie, a smiling Fred and George, and an annoyed Percy who was squished between the twins to prevent escape.

Ron was walking toward him throwing flower petals, having been put up to it by Fred and George, and behind him came Ginny, who was wearing a white sheet draped around her like a dress and a matching pillowcase tied on her head as a veil. In her hands was a bouquet of wildflowers. She was smiling shyly at Harry. Both of them were rather embarrassed, but had gone along with the twins anyway.

Ginny stopped in front of Harry. Bill, who was standing behind them, said, "Now, Harry, repeat after me." He paused so Harry could nod. "I do."

"I do," said Harry. Ginny giggled.

"Now, Ginny." Bill continued. "Repeat after me," He paused again. "I do."

"I do." she repeated.

"Ok, do you have the rings?"

"Err… no?" Harry said.

"Well, that's ok I guess. I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride."

Ginny blushed a deep red as Harry placed a chaste kiss on her lips. The twins were both cheering and catcalling, so they didn't notice the slight magical surge from the pair.

Mrs. Weasley had been about to call outside for the children to come in for lunch when she saw what they were playing. She smiled when she saw Ginny and Harry. Then Harry kissed Ginny and she felt a surge of magic. _That odd, _She thought. She decided to ask Dumbledore about this when she saw him.

"Kids, Lunch time!" she called.

They all made a mad dash for the kitchen except for Harry and Ginny, who were blushing and walking slower, hand in hand. Mrs. Weasley sighed to herself. That had to be the cutest crush she'd ever seen.

Once everyone was seated at the table, Harry and Ginny still dressed up, the teasing began. "So, Fred, wherever shall we send the lovebirds for their honeymoon?"

"I dunno, George, maybe to the tree house?" The twins grinned evilly at Ginny and Harry's blushing faces.

"Now, boys, that enough," said Mrs. Weasley as she put sandwiches on everyone's plates.

Harry managed to eat two bites out of his sandwich before his stomach began to hurt. _Gin, I can't eat anymore._

Ginny put down her sandwich and looked at him. She could feel that he was in pain from the amount of food, as he hadn't eaten much in his three years with the Dursleys, but she knew how her mum would react if he stopped eating now.

_How about a distraction? _She asked.

_Good idea! _Harry said, smiling at her thoughts.

"Mum, they're doing it again!" said an annoyed Percy who had been watching Harry and Ginny's changing facial expressions.

"Percy, leave them be." She replied while adding another sandwich to Ron's plate.

Ginny finished the rest of her sandwich hurriedly, and then put on a three-year-old-needs-potty-now act. She was excused and went upstairs, but instead of going to the bathroom, she went into Percy's room.

She closed the door behind her and quietly went over to the cage that held a sleeping Pettigrew in rat animagus form. She picked him up gently so he didn't wake up, and then she walked up to the bathroom. She walked into the bathroom, took a deep breath, and screamed.

She could hear everyone running up the stairs, and went down to meet them, with the rat in hand. "Ugh! Percy, take your stupid rat!" She said, shoving the rat, which was now awake, into Percy's hands.

Percy stared at it. "How'd he get out? He was in his cage!"

"How should I know?" Ginny asked with her hands on her hips. "Maybe you should keep him locked up better!"

Once the Weasley boys realized Ginny wasn't hurt, just startled, they began making their way back to the kitchen to finish lunch. That's when Harry spoke up. "Hey! I think I know that rat!"

"How do you know Scabbers?" Percy questioned.

"I remember him." Harry replied.

"He's had dreams about him. He looks like the same rat." Ginny supplied.

"Yes, only when I knew him, he wasn't called 'Scabbers', he was called Peter. " Harry added.

"Yes, Peter. Peter… Pettygrey?" Ginny asked her face thoughtful.

"Prettygrew?" Harry tried.

"Pettigrew?" Ginny asked.

"Yes! That's it! Peter Pettigrew!" Harry exclaimed, turning to the rat in question. Pettigrew had started struggling to free himself from Percy's grip to no avail. "But when I knew him, he could turn from being a person to being a rat."

Mrs. Weasley face had paled drastically. "Percy, give me your rat." She said in a shaky, commanding voice.

"But, mother, what's going on? You don't believe him, do you? It's preposterous!"

"Percy! You will listen, and give me your rat!" yelled Mrs. Weasley. Percy submitted to her when she used her 'mother-glare'.

Mrs. Weasley immediately pulled out her wand and stunned the struggling rat. She told all the boys to go finish lunch. "Bill, Charlie, you're in charge. Fred, George, behave! Harry, Ginny, come with me." They went to the fireplace and Flooed directly to Mr. Weasley's office in the ministry.

"Arthur!" She called out.

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley looked up from the paperwork at his desk in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Arthur, we may have a problem." She lowered her voice so Harry and Ginny wouldn't hear. "You remember the story of How Sirius Black betrayed the Potters and then killed Peter Pettigrew?"

"Yes, of course, but what…"

"Harry says he recognized Scabbers, but that when he knew him he could change from a human into a rat. Then he said his name was Peter Pettigrew! Harry couldn't have heard that name anywhere else! I… He…"

"Molly, calm down!" Mr. Weasley said, trying to help his wife, who was staring to have a breakdown. "All we have to do is an animagus revealing spell. We can take him down to the Aurors, they should know the spell."

Once Mrs. Weasley had calmed down (with the help of a calming drought from her husband) they headed to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Harry was putting on a face of wonder as he took everything in. He didn't have to act very much, as everything was very different looking from his shorter height.

It didn't take long to find a familiar Auror. Kingsley Shacklebolt was on his way back to his desk after his lunch break when he spotted Mr. Weasley. "Hello, Arthur. What brings you down here?"

"Ah, Kingsley, you wouldn't happen to know the animagus revealing spell, would you?"

He seemed surprised by this question, but answered, "Of course. All Aurors must learn it."

"Great! Could you possibly perform it on this rat? We have reason to believe he isn't just what he appears to be…"

In response, Kingsley pulled his wand out and a jet of blue-white light hit the stunned rat. There was a pause where nothing happened before a bright flash of light appeared that brought attention from the whole room to the man now lying on the floor.

All movement in the room stopped. Every eye was on the man who everyone had assumed dead.

After a solid minute of silence, Harry brought it upon himself to be the first to speak. "Yupp." He stated matter-of-factly. "That's Peter. I remember him."

Everyone began muttering to each other, louder and louder until Harry conveniently ran a hand through his hair and someone saw his scar. "Merlin! Is that Harry Potter?" shrieked a witch. That statement brought the room into chaos. Someone left the room and the news spread like wildfire.

Harry Potter was at the Ministry… and so was a very much alive Peter Pettigrew.


	5. Innocence

The Wizengamot meeting had been long and uneventful. Minister Millicent Bagnold was nodding off while some wizard went on about werewolf rights. The meeting had been called after a number of riots, and after several hours, they still hadn't gotten anywhere.

The door to the courtroom burst open showing a young, out of breath Auror.

"What is the meaning of this?" snapped Minister Bagnold.

"Minister!" said the Auror, gasping for breath. "I need Albus Dumbledore to come immediately to the Auror department! Harry Potter… here at the ministry…and Pettigrew… he says that… that he remembers… and, and… Oh, please just come!"

Albus Dumbledore stood facing the panicked Auror. His blue eyes twinkled mysteriously as he spoke. "Harry Potter is at the Ministry for Magic?"

"Yes! Please, come quick! The entire Ministry is in a panic! Peter Pettigrew has been found to be alive!"

The whispers around the room intensified and suddenly everyone was shouting at each other.

"He must be lying!"

"Pettigrew has been dead for years!"

"Harry Potter, you say, THE Harry Potter?"

"SILENCE!" shouted Dumbledore, his voice echoed and everyone complied. "If everyone will please calm down," Dumbledore turned to Madame Bones, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement. "Madame Bones, if you could please pull the files on Peter Pettigrew while I go and sort this out?"

Minister Bagnold declared they were to have a recess, and Dumbledore followed the Auror out.

The hallways were busy, far busier than any normal day at the Ministry. Luckily, the crowds parted for Dumbledore, so he didn't have to waste time fighting through them.

Once they got to the Auror department, he was directed a small conference room. Upon entering he saw a much shaken Molly Weasley being comforted by her husband, and who he assumed to be Harry glaring at a sandwich in front of him. Ginny sat next to Harry, looking at the young boy's expression with amusement.

_Of all the things going on, your mum is the one person who would still notice I hadn't eaten. _Ginny just giggled in reply.

"Good Afternoon, Molly, Arthur." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Could you please tell me what has happened?"

Mrs. Weasley began stuttering out an explanation, failing miserably. "The-the carnival… then Harry, and his… his uncle… then… then he came home with us…and-and the breakfast… and the rat… Ginny and Harry… and… and…"

Harry decided help her out. "Hello, Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore turned his attention toward Harry. "Hello, my boy. Am I right to assume you to be Harry Potter." Harry nodded. "May I ask how you know who I am, Harry?"

"Ginny showed me." Harry said.

Dumbledore's eyes began to twinkle. "Has Ginny showed you a lot of things?"

Harry hid his confusion. _What does he know?_

_I'm not sure Harry, but we'd better watch ourselves. _

"Yes." Harry said, smiling innocently. "She showed me all about magic and Diagon Ally and her brothers and how we're gonna go to Hogwarts when we grow up, and I've shown…" Harry stopped for Ginny to cut in.

"…me all about muggles and his relatives, who weren't nice to him one bit, and his cupboard and all the times he did magic without even knowing it, but he'd always get punished after, so I told…" Ginny trailed off before Harry picked up.

"…me how my Aunt and Uncle lied and that magic is good and doesn't make me a freak at all!" Harry smiled brightly while looking at Professor Dumbledore who had a knowing smile on his face.

"Well," said Dumbledore while turning to face to Weasley parents, "I'm sure you must be overwhelmed with everything that has happened, but I assure you this is a very joyous occasion."

"What do you mean, Albus?" asked Mr. Weasley, as Mrs. Weasley was still too shaken to speak.

"I think it would be best if we discussed this in private."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

_When do you think they'll be back? _Harry asked to Ginny.

They'd been sent home while Dumbledore talked to Ginny's parents, and were currently cuddling under their sheet-tent.

_Dunno… what do you think Dumbledore knows?_ Harry was about to reply when Ginny's door burst open.

"Oh, ickle Harry-kinz!"

"And our dearest Gin-Gin!"

Harry and Ginny scrambled away from each other, glad that the sheet-tent blocked Fred and George's view of the two.

"What do you want?" Ginny yelled at them.

"Oh, we just thought you might need a healer."

"You see, we think you may have contracted a life threatening disease."

"Wanted to make sure you were still alive and all…"

"…considering…"

"Considering what?" Ginny asked fearfully in her childish voice.

Harry could feel Ginny's fear and tried to calm her. _Ginny, they're just trying to wind you up._

_I know… but…_

"Well you see…" Fred sighed.

"Earlier today…"

"Harry _kissed _you."

"And EVERYONE knows that kissing boys gives…"

"COOTIES!" The twins yelled out together.

That's when Ginny and Harry lost it. They knew they should ignore Fred and George, but the fact that they were in child's bodies gave them an entirely different reaction.

"Stop it!" screeched Ginny, tears falling down her cheeks.

They kept chanting, "Cooties! Cooties!" over and over again.

"Leave her alone!" shouted Harry. Harry clenched his small fists and the air began to crackle with uncontrolled magic.

The twins didn't stop.

Harry moved forward to push them in the chest when his magic lashed out and they flew backwards without being touched.

Fred hit the wall next to the door while George Hit the open door and a sickening SNAP echoed through the room.

George cried out in pain and Fred leapt up to help his fallen twin.

Bill came rushing up the stairs. "What happened?" he asked.

"George's arm is broken!" Fred said while trying not to completely freak out for his twin's sake.

"Oh, Merlin!" Bill exclaimed. "Percy, fire-call Dumbledore's office! Tell mum and dad to come home NOW!"

Harry and Ginny stood wide-eyed watching the scene unfold. Neither could form a coherent thought to each other.

Mrs. Weasley could be heard the moment she came out of the fire. "What is it? Is everyone ok?"

"Mum!" Bill called out. "Mum, up here! George's arm is broken!"

She rushed up the stairs followed closely by Mr. Weasley and Professor Dumbledore. George was immediately scooped up into his mother's arms.

"Perhaps it would be best to take young Mr. Weasley back to the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Madame Pomfrey can heal his arm. I will stay here so I might talk to Harry and Ginny about what happened." He peered at the young couple over his half moon spectacles.

_He knows something. I can feel it. _Ginny though to Harry.

The Weasleys filed out of the room and Dumbledore closed and warded the door against eavesdroppers.

"_Well,_" began Dumbledore. "I'm sure you have a _very _interesting story to tell me." His eyes twinkled knowingly.

Harry and Ginny's mouths were hanging open.

"S-sir? What do you know?" Harry asked timidly. If Dumbledore knew, most of their planning was moot.

"I assure you not very much. You were most secretive the last time we met."

"Last time?" Harry asked in a strangled voice. _What's going on? This wasn't part of the plan! _He shouted to an equally confused Ginny.

"You see," said Dumbledore while his eyes twinkled. "My theory is that time acts like a pool of water. If you are to throw in a stone, it does not just ripple in one direction, but in all."

_So by changing our past and this future we changed this past as well?_ Ginny asked, trying to make sense of it all. _Does this mean he knows about our jump?_

_I guess… _Harry responded, not sure what to believe. _Ginny!_ Harry said, tensing up. _Ginny, we need to ask him something to make sure it's him! _

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry suddenly asked.

"Yes, my boy?"

"What is your favorite type of jam?"

"Ah, a good question; one which you have asked me before as well. That would be raspberry, my boy."

Harry visibly relaxed when he realized he wasn't being tricked. "Sir? What _do_ you know exactly?"

"All you would tell me was that you and Ginny had made a time jump of sorts, sent by me, and that I should know when you've arrived from the future when both you and Peter Pettigrew came to the Ministry."

Harry was quiet for a moment as he and Ginny thought this over.

"Does this mean we should ignore your suggestion from your future self of our future, and instead agree with your past self from this past which isn't our original past?" Ginny asked.

Harry turned to her with his eyebrows raised. "I didn't even understand that, and I share your thoughts!" He told her. She stuck out her tongue at him.

"On to more current matters, what happened with young Mr. Weasley? George, I believe?"

"Oh," Harry said, looking at his feet. "That was me, it was an accident though!" Harry then told him how they lost control when being teased, and the accidental magic which was larger than normal because of his adult magical core.

Dumbledore looked pensive for a moment before speaking. "I assume your loss of control was due to the fact that you are three and four years old. Your bodies do not handle stress well. This could prove to be dangerous, but I could see about getting you both a magical suppressant bracelet."

"Couldn't that be just as dangerous? It would basically leave us defenseless…" Harry said uncertainly.

"I could add some adjustments to it to make it less… childproof; perhaps a way to turn it on and off or add an adjustable power level."

"I guess that would be ok…" Harry told him.

"What did you tell my parents?" asked Ginny to change the subject.

"I told them I suspected you two to have formed a bond of some sort, and that I would have to research to find more out. As it is, we can blame several of your abilities from the future on this bond."

"She didn't get upset about it?" Ginny knew her mother wouldn't like the idea of her three year old daughter being soul bonded therefore essentially married. "I don't see my mother reacting well to me being married."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "I thought it best to leave that detail out for the time being. Soul Bonds are not common occurrences, and are unheard of in ones as young as you appear to be. It would be best to introduce the idea to your parents at a slower pace."

"I couldn't agree more. Mum would have kittens if she knew her only daughter was married at age three."

"Professor, what about Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt is on his way to get him from Azkaban as we speak."

Harry's face lit up as he heard this. Sirius would be free! "Can we go too? Fawkes could use his fire-travel thing to take us there and we'd arrive at the same time as him!"

"I do not think that would be best, Harry. You must remember your body is only four; it would take you much longer to recover from the Dementor's effects."

Harry's face fell slightly. "Oh," he said. "I guess your right…" Harry smiled again and asked, "Can I see him at the ministry?"

"I don't see why not." Dumbledore told him.

"Yes!" said Harry. He jumped and punched the air in a childish victory dance.

Dumbledore chuckled and said, "Come along, they should be arriving by portkey at the ministry any minute now.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Icy freezing air surrounded him. He shuddered and exhaled, seeing his breath in front of him.

It had been over three and a half years since he'd been thrown in Azkaban, but Sirius Black had lost count of the days long ago.

He whimpered a bit as he remembered the times before this. When he, Moony and Prong—he conveniently left the rat out of his thoughts—would run through the Forbidden Forest every full moon.

He reached a weak hand down for a loose rock and brought it up to the wall. He used the sharp rock to scrape a crude drawing of his friends; Moony as a werewolf and Prongs as a stag. He held on to the memory of them running the best that he could before the Dementors could take it, but he only managed for a minute or so before a passing Dementor sucked it away from him.

He shivered and chanted to himself. _Innocent. I'm Innocent._

It wasn't a happy thought or memory, so the Dementors couldn't take it from him, but it wasn't entirely comforting. But comforting or not, it was the only thing that kept him from losing his mind.

This was how they found him.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

For Kingsley Shacklebolt, a day that started like any other had turned into anything but. For only on an unusual day would he find himself on his way to Azkaban with a portkey and no less than ten bars of Honeydukes chocolate in his pockets, about to free a murderer.

Of course, a man said prisoner was supposed to have murdered had been proven alive, so there was good reason to question his case.

Kingsley's portkey touched down in front of the gate to Azkaban. Water crashed behind him and he moved quickly forward to avoid the spray. He could already feel the chill of Azkaban as he yelled to get the attention of the man guarding the gate. He flashed his badge and official notice for the removal of a prisoner, and he was let through.

As he approached the cell, he could hear Sirius muttering to himself. "I'm innocent… I'm innocent."

That was when Kingsley decided it was true. He saw the broken man whispering to himself and he knew. Sirius Black hadn't killed those people. He was innocent.

-Annoying Note-

Harry and Ginny need Animagus forms and Mauruder names!

Send in ideas through reviews!


	6. I Dunno, Who?

Ginny giggled as Harry jumped up and down on his toes, excitedly waiting to get a glimpse of Sirius. Dumbledore smiled kindly down at the young boy. Eyes twinkling, he asked, "Do you need to use the little boy's room, Harry?"

Harry stopped jumping and scowled up at him. "No…." he looked at his feet. "…maybe, but I can wait! I just wanna see Sirius!" He began to jump again and Dumbledore chuckled. They were waiting in a small sitting area in the Auror Department for Kingsley Shacklebolt to bring Sirius in from Azkaban. Dumbledore was sitting in a chair, flipping through a magazine that looked nearly as old as he was.

There was suddenly a commotion across the busy room. Harry jumped up, as did nearly every Auror in the room.

"Sirius!" he yelled. Half the Auror department, who had all had their wands pointed at the convict, turned to see from where the small voice had come.

Sirius Black was standing on the other side of the room, looking pale and thin. Around his wrist was a glowing red bracelet. With great effort he lifted his eyes, searching for who had called him. His eyes widened when he saw. "Harry." He breathed.

All heads turned back to him. One of the braver Aurors spoke up, "What's the meaning of this?" he asked.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was standing just behind Sirius, started to explain, "Don't worry; he can't perform any magic due to the red cuff. We have new evidence…" but Harry wasn't listening. All he could see was Sirius, alive and well. Not exactly _well_, per say, but far less gaunt than he had after twelve years in the prison.

Kingsley trailed off and all wands where again raised when Harry began to sprint across the room toward his godfather. He crashed into him with a bear hug, pushing the frail man unto his back.

Sirius coughed, "H-harry? Is it really you?"

Harry just stayed on Sirius's chest, his head rocking back and forth while he murmured, "Padfoot, Padfoot, Padfoot!"

Most of the surrounding Aurors were touched by the heartfelt display from the Boy-Who-Lived, but a few were remaining cautious. "Shouldn't somebody separate them; Black's a convicted murderer!" Someone shouted. But no one stepped forward. Kingsley reached down and helped Sirius into a sitting position, the toddler still in his arms. Slowly, the room began to go back to a, if slightly more cautious, normal state. Sirius continued to hold his godson in his arms and rock him back and forth.

Ginny watched everything through Harry's thoughts, smiling at his happiness. She climbed up into a chair and let her eyes droop. It was past naptime, and her body wouldn't let her stay up much longer.

Dumbledore picked up Ginny, and walked over to Sirius. "Hello, Sirius." He said softly.

"Dumbledore," he said in greeting. His eyes never left the small person in his arms that he was rocking to sleep.

"I believe we have a trial to set for you."

Sirius finally looked up into Dumbledore's eyes. Threatening tears, he managed to choke out, "Thank you."

* * *

Dumbledore had returned to the Wizengamot meeting to find it in chaos. Although still in recess, most were there; if only to know what was happening. Everyone was talking over one another and everyone was in a panic looking through files. "SILENCE!" Dumbledore called out. The room quieted immediately. "Thank you." He turned to Madame Bones, waiting for her to speak.

"Albus," she said franticly. Whisps of hair had fallen loose from the bun she'd worn. "There was never even a trial!"

Dumbledore turned a grave face to Minister Bagnold. "Who approved of sending him to Azkaban without trial?"

Bagnold looked as if she was about to faint under Dumbledore gaze. "Err… well, there was so much going on at the time… and the ahh… the evidence was all there…"

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Who." He repeated, his voice low.

Bagnold lowered her eyes. In a small voice she replied, "I did sir."

Dumbledore sighed and lessoned the intensity of his stare, changing it to that of pity. "Do you understand what you've condemned him to? A likely innocent man has been sitting in Azkaban, with the Dementors, without anyone ever asking him what happened." Dumbledore turned away from the minister. "Madame Bones?" He asked softly. "Please call the Wizengamot back into session."

She nodded once to him before calling out. "The recess is over, are all accounted for?" There was an affirmative answer from a man on her left.

"Thank you." Dumbledore told her before addressing the Wizengamot as a whole. "I would like to hold a vote of no confidence against Minister Bagnold." He turned to the Minister, "You will have a long road to building back trust."

* * *

Sirius was holding two sleeping children in his arms when Dumbledore returned. "Kingsley put a weightless charm on the two of them." Sirius whispered to Albus.

Albus smiled warmly at the scene before him. In a quiet voice, so not to disturb Harry and Ginny, he said, "As comfortable as the three of you look, I'm sorry to say the children will need a new place to sleep. An emergency Wizengamot trial on your behalf is to start in ten minutes."

Harry instantly began to stir, as if realizing that his godfather was going to be leaving. He yawned widely and looked around, smiling up at Sirius.

_Ginny,_ Harry called out to her. _Ginny, wake up!_

Ginny woke up slower, with the help of a few mental prods from Harry. _Wazzgoinon?_ Ginny asked him.

"Ah," said Dumbledore. "I see the little ones have awoken. Now, we will need to send you two back to the Burrow so we might proceed with Sirius's trial."

Harry panicked. He didn't want to leave his godfather, fearing that something would go wrong. _I can't leave him, Gin! _

_It'll be alright, Harry. I'll go back to the Burrow. You go with Sirius to the trial. Just don't let go of him. If anyone tries to make you leave, scream. They'll hardly deny the Boy-Who-Lived anything._

_But, Gin, our bond hasn't been working long distance since we came back…_

_I know, Harry, but it'll only be for a little while, I'll probably just be sleeping anyway. _Ginny wriggled out of Sirius's arms; the adults oblivious to the conversation the two had just had. She walked over to Dumbledore, ready to go home.

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked when he'd made no move to leave.

"No leave." Harry pouted, reverting to his four-year-old instincts. His grasp on his godfather's neck tightened.

"Well, I'm not sure how the Wizengamot will react, but I don't believe there is any law prohibiting you from joining us." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Let's be off then, shall we?"

After sending Ginny home through the Floo, they made their trek down to the courtrooms. When they arrived, Dumbledore swung open the door. Sirius paused before entering. Drawing a deep breath, he murmured, "Here goes everything." and took the first step into the courtroom; his first step toward gaining freedom.

Harry looked around the oversized courtroom. It was PACKED. Obviously someone leaked the trial to the press. Suddenly a voice of outrage called from the crowd. "Why does he have a child with him?"

More voices followed. "He can't be in here!"

"Someone get him away from him!"

"Who's the kid?"

"Sweet Merlin, is that _Harry Potter_?" There was a hush. No one dared to breathe. _Harry Potter_ was in the arms of notorious-mass-murderer, betrayer-of-friends, suspected-death-eater, _Sirius Black_!

And then the screams began. "Someone save him!" "Quick, before he gets killed!" "Who let that monster babysit a hero?"

"SILENCE!" shouted Dumbledore. No one spoke. "Thank you. Now, it appears that our young Harry here refuses to let go of his godfather." There were a few weak protests, but were quickly silenced by the headmaster's glare. "If you would all be so kind, we really should be getting started.

Harry watched as Madame Bones smoothly began the trial. "Mr. Black, you have been charged with the murder of twelve muggles and one wizard by the name of Peter Pettigrew, and having connections to You-Know-Who. How do you plead?"

"Not…"

"Who?" Harry questioned, interrupting Sirius.

"Excuse me?" asked Madame Bones.

"I dunno who…" Harry continued, feigning childish curiosity.

"I… I…" She looked around the room for help, unable to grasp just what he was asking. The assistant next to her scanned the parchment which had a quick-quotes pen writing recording the trial.

"I think he means You-Know-Who," whispered the assistant.

Madame Bones looked uncomfortable. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before giving up and turning her pleading eyes to Dumbledore. To everyone's surprise, it wasn't Dumbledore who spoke, but Sirius. In a gentle voice, he spoke to the child in his arms. "A few years ago, Harry, there was a very bad wizard. His name was Voldemort. He was very scary so no one liked to say his name. He… he killed your parents, Harry. Do you remember them? What am I saying, of course you don't, you were too little…"

"I 'member mama and dada!" he said with a big grin. He paused for a moment, scrunching up his face. "I don't like Voldibert!" Harry continued. "He shoots the bad green light!" No one made a sound. "But I'm not 'fraid of him!" Harry finished, puffing out his chest.

The silence stretched on until finally, Sirius, who looked as if he couldn't decide to laugh or cry, asked in a strained tone, "Did you just say Vold-i-_bert_?" Someone giggled, and the crowd broke out into laughter.

"What?" asked Harry innocently.

"Ah-hem!" Madame Bones cleared her throat loudly to get everyone's attention. "If we could continue with the trail now…"

* * *

"And we're gonna have a whole Quidditch pitch in our very own backyard! You'll love flying Harry." Sirius, who had just been declared innocent of all charges, was excited at having his godson live with him.

Harry held onto his godfather's hair to keep from falling off of his perch on his shoulders. If Sirius was bothered by this, he didn't show it.

"We're gonna go find a house today. It's gonna have fifty rooms so you can have all your friends over at once!" Harry giggled at Sirius's musing.

"We don't need fifty, Padfoot," Harry learned over his godfather's head to look at his face. "We'll need at least a bazillion!"

Sirius smiled up at Harry. "We'll be sure to get it then, Pup."


	7. A Sirius Dinner

Harry quietly crawled through the garden. He'd been dropped off at the Burrow an hour previously so Sirius could go shopping for a wand and proper clothes, and Ginny was still sleeping. Harry stalked up closer behind prey and let out a small growl. Ron started and whipped around as Harry pounced.

The two boys wrestled around – playing 'lions' as Ron had suggested they do – until Mrs. Weasley called them in for dinner. Harry and Ron raced to the door, roaring like lions all the way there. Ron cheered at his victory, and Harry congratulated him, out of breath from the short run.

_I really need to work out. I didn't really get out much and Dudley didn't have a gang to run from this early on._ Harry thought to Ginny, who was now awake from her nap and ready for dinner.

_You're just a kid, love. You don't need to be 'working out', that's what play is for._ Ginny giggled at the image of four-year-old Harry lifting weights. They were broken from their thoughts by Mrs. Weasley's voice.

"Oh, Harry-dear, your godfather will be stopping by for dinner."

Harry jumped and shouted, "YES!" Mrs. Weasley smiled, as if expected this reaction.

_ She must have talked to Dumbledore about Sirius._ Ginny thought to Harry.

_Gin, I get to see him again! Twice in one day after YEARS!_

_ I know. Speaking of, are we going to tell him?_

_ Err... I dunno. Should we?_

_ I'm not sure… How about we cross that bridge when we come to it?_

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat you two, go wash up; you as well Ronald." Mrs. Weasley told them. She'd been watching their facial expressions change for the past minute or so. _I'll have to ask Dumbledore if he's found anything about this bond between them._ She thought to herself.

Ginny and Harry ran off hand in hand to the washroom, Ron following up behind Harry like a lost puppy dog.

Back in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was laying the table for dinner when the fire flashed green. Out stepped Sirius Black who looked much healthier now that he was clean and properly clothed.

"Molly!" He called out as he entered the kitchen. "Where's that Godson of mine?"

"Sirius!" a voice shouted from the hall. Harry bounded out and gave his godfather a hug around the knees, nearly making the frail man fall over.

"Hello, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley said warmly. She couldn't help but feel bad that her family had been the one to – unknowingly – harbor the man who caused his life to be hell. She would now do anything for him to make up for it. "Did you get everything you needed?"

Sirius pulled out his wand and waved it proudly. "Get this, Dumbledore still had my original!"

"That's good. Now if you'll excuse me," Mrs. Weasley turned to the stairs and called, "KIDS, DINNER!" She sent Ron to get Mr. Weasley from his tool shed as she laid down the roast.

"Err, sorry but, who're you?" Bill asked once he entered the kitchen and saw Sirius sitting at the table next to Harry.

"Hey there, you must be Bill, right? Or are you Charlie…"

"I'm Bill, oldest of seven." Bill told him.

"Well, hello, Bill, oldest-of-seven. My name is Sirius, godfather-of-Harry, nice to meet you." Sirius held out a hand. Bill looked at it warily. He'd heard stories of the infamous Sirius [godfather-of-Harry] Black and didn't understand why he was in his house or, well, _friendly_.

"Bill, use your manners," his mother warned him when he'd yet to reach to shake the man's hand.

"Err, nice to meet you, Mr. Black." Bill said, reaching for Sirius's hand awkwardly.

"Ew," said Sirius, sporting a sour face.

"What?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she inspected her son's hand, ready to scold, for what had just disgusted the man.

"I just got called 'Mr. Black'… and I repeat, ew."

Mrs. Weasley just laughed. "You haven't changed one bit Sirius."

Bill looked from one adult to the other, thoroughly confused. At that moment the rush of people came from upstairs. Everyone was laughing and joking together as Mrs. Weasley told them to wash up.

Sirius, Harry, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley were sitting together at the table, waiting for the rest of the family.

_Harry, does Sirius know about the bond, did anyone tell him?_

_ Not sure, love. Let's find out?_

"Can you really turn into a doggy?" Ginny asked Sirius excitedly.

"Err, no, of course not!" Sirius said, glancing nervously to Molly, who eyed him suspiciously. "Where ever did you hear that?"

"I saw it from Harry."

"Harry told you I turned into a dog?" Sirius asked, curiosity making him drop his pretenses.

"No, silly. He doesn't have to _tell _me it."

"How?"

"He _shows_ me; in my head."

"Oh." Sirius replied, dumbfounded. "And he remembered me turning into a dog, and he showed you?"

"Yup."

Sirius sat back a little in his chair, absorbing this. Ginny had already turned back to Harry, satisfied that they'd let him in on the secret. "Molly, why can she see in his head?" Sirius asked quietly.

"As far as we can tell, it goes both ways. Dumbledore theorized that they'd formed something of a bond."

"Oh." Sirius was quiet after that.

Once everyone had settled down to the table and began eating, the conversation turned to Sirius's trial, which he was having great pleasure talking dramatically about.

"What happened to Pettigrew?" Arthur asked.

"The little bastard has a trial of his own coming up. They nearly sent him straight to Azkaban till I interrupted with a cough. Bloody idiots. I don't care how damning the evidence or the criminal; I won't let the ministry continue the way it does."

"Watch your language, Sirius!" Molly scolded. "There are children present."

Sirius waved her off with a grunt and continued to eat. Once dinner was finished Harry and Sirius offered to help clean up, but Mrs. Weasley told them to go enjoy each other's company and snatched a complaining Ginny for the chore instead.

Some time later, Mrs. Weasley came into the living room with Ginny trailing behind her. Laughter rang in the air. Sirius had Harry pinned, obviously winning a tickle-fight.

"Do you give up?" Sirius growled in a booming voice.

"I give… I GIVE!" Harry shouted between fits of giggles. He rolled off the couch and ran to Ginny to escape.

"Alright kids, go get ready for bed." Mrs. Weasley said with a warm look in her eyes. Harry and Ginny ran off without protest.

Molly turned to Sirius once she saw that they were gone. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?" asked Sirius, eyebrows furrowed.

"That's the first time I've seen him act like a real child since he's got here." Sirius didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"What happened to him?"

"You know Lily's sister?"

"Petunia? Tell me they didn't…"

"Harry has lived with her, her husband and her son since the night his parents were killed." Molly told him through tear filled eyes. "They… they hit him, Sirius."

"No." Sirius growled curling his hands into tight fists. "Why did they send him there? Where was Remus?" A chilling possibility dawned on him. "He not... oh, please tell me he's alright."

"Remus is fine, I haven't heard from him since Order days, but Dumbledore would tell us if something happened to him."

"Then why didn't he take Harry?"

"The ministry would never allow a werewolf to take care of a child."

Sirius pressed his fists to his eyes, willing the nightmares of reality to disappear. "So, what now?" he asked in a small voice.

"We've taken him in for now, but I suspect that you'd like custody now that you're free." Sirius nodded mutely.

Mr. Weasley interrupted them with a small cough. The older man was leaning against the doorway.

"Do you know where you're staying tonight, Sirius?" He asked.

"A room at the Leaky Cauldron I suppose."

"Well, it's not much, but you're welcome to our couch. And you'd be closer to Harry."

Sirius finally looked up from his hands. "Thank you." He said, eyes speaking volumes.


End file.
